


Friday Night At the Drive-In

by saturninesunshine



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Humor, or as much humor as i can write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-17
Updated: 2014-06-17
Packaged: 2018-02-05 01:55:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1801159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saturninesunshine/pseuds/saturninesunshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“So where are we going on this mandated chaperoned failure of a date?”</p><p>“The drive-in.” </p><p>After Jon discovers his best friend's desire to go on a date with his little sister, he insists on playing the chaperon. Lucky for him, Ygritte insists on making it interesting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friday Night At the Drive-In

**Author's Note:**

> The season finale was beautiful and I am sad. Here is some nice non dead ASoIaF characters. This was really fun to write but also really hard. Lighter stuff is not really my strong suit so forgive me if it's not up to par.

Arya had liked Ygritte the moment she met her. Her half-brother’s tiny redheaded girlfriend with a shiny nose ring had been a shock to her mother. But it was the first time she had seen Jon truly smile. He smiled with his teeth now like he had nothing to hide.

The first time Arya and Ygritte hung out just the two of them included tequila and the older girl holding the younger’s hair back while she threw up in the bushes. Jon had been furious but if he knew that his best friend was the one who carried his little sister home, it would have been worse.

From the beginning, Ygritte had been on Arya’s side. It was only her that Arya confided in about her secret tentative dalliance with her brother’s college roommate. Sansa figured it out when she found Gendry’s bad poetry underneath Arya’s bed. But Sansa never really liked Ygritte. Arya had a suspicion that her sister was a little jealous of the other redhead but never broached the subject.

Surprisingly enough, Jon figured out Gendry’s infatuation with Arya all on his own. Whenever Gendry tried composing his own songs, it was a clear sign that he was into someone new. But only after catching a certain little sister of is trying to slide down the drain pipe to go to a college bar did he put it all together.

“You’re sixteen, Arya.”

“So?” Arya asked. “Ygritte doesn’t care. She actually treats me like an equal.”

“Ygritte,” Jon said in astonishment. “This is none of Ygritte’s business.”

“Yes it is,” Arya insisted. “We’re practically sisters now.”

“You’re only saying that because you like her better than Sansa." 

“No,” Arya said honestly. She liked Sansa fine. She just liked Ygritte differently. “I’m saying that because you two have done it so many times I’m surprised you didn’t knock her up already.”

“ _Arya_.”

“What?”

She didn’t have a lot of regard for her own safety. That was problem number one. Problem number two was when Jon discovered Gendry listening to depressing blues the day after having been allegedly stood up. 

“I’m surprised it took you this long to figure it out,” Ygritte said, taking the joint from Jon and inhaling it deeply.

“So you knew,” Jon accused.

“Yeah, because she needed someone to talk to,” Ygritte said. “And she knew her favorite sibling wasn’t going to exactly be supportive.” 

“Supportive that my roommate is stalking her,” Jon said harshly.

“It isn’t stalking.” 

“He’s nineteen!”

“So?” Ygritte asked. “You’re dating someone older.”

“Exactly,” Jon said. “I don’t want Arya doing what you and I are doing.” 

“And what are we doing?”

He did not like that look in her eye. There was a wicked glint and that usually preceded overtures in the backseat of his car. 

“And it’s different for girls anyway,” Jon said, evading her capture. “She can’t be in a relationship with a college guy. She’s too young.”

“I thought you said it was stalking,” Ygritte smirked smartly. 

“Yes,” Jon said definitively.

“She likes him too,” Ygritte said. “She was going out to meet him when you busted her.” 

“Lucky I did,” Jon grumbled. “She would end up pregnant.” 

“Between you and him I think you can come up with the solution of protection.”

“Hey,” Jon said. He was always sensitive about his questionable maternity. 

Ygritte shrugged. “I never met my mother either. My dad said she was a bi-polar psycho. Who cares?”

“I do,” Jon said. “The circle of trust has been broken.”

“Don’t be such a little bitch about it,” Ygritte rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it’s more than just sex for him.”

“That’s not _funny_." 

“You’re so somber today,” Ygritte said. “What would you have them do? Keeping them apart will just make them want to misbehave more. Believe me.”

“You would know.”

The punch came hard and fast into his shoulder. Jon winced. It really hurt. She made sure her punches always hurt.

“Don’t make me forget why I like you so much, Jon Snow,” Ygritte warned. 

“I just don’t want her to get in over her head.”

“I doubt Arya has ever been in over her head,” Ygritte said. “What would you suggest? Installing a nanny cam? Bugging the room? Lojacking your little sister?”

Jon shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the worst thing.”

“You’re not doing that,” Ygritte said. “Come up with a better plan.”

Informing Arya of this plan had been a feat in itself. So much so that Ygritte volunteered to do it. 

“ _What_?”

“Don’t take my head off,” Ygritte said.

“This isn’t fair,” Arya said.

“Is it better than sneaking out the window?” Ygritte said. 

“What you’re suggesting is humiliating,” Arya said darkly.

“Well now you can have your date with Gendry,” Ygritte said brightly.

“With Jon as a chaperone!” Arya said. “How has this become my life?”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Ygritte waved her away. “I’m on your side. You’re lucking I’m coming. I’ll be your buffer and keep Jon occupied. He was going to go in gung-ho with that ceremonial samurai sword he has.”

“Lucky me,” Arya muttered. “So where are we going on this mandated chaperoned failure of a date?”

“The drive-in.” 

Arya was lucky. Ygritte had always been on her side.

* * *

 

When Gendry made his way up the walk that night, Jon immediately insisted that he would be riding shotgun. Normally Jon wouldn’t be taking this tone with his best friend, but Arya knew opening her mouth in his defense would be hindering this delicate operation more than helping.

And Ygritte had been right. She was there to help.

She did this by shoving Gendry out of the way when he tried to open the door to the front seat. Of course he had no qualms with getting on Jon’s good side, but Ygritte never had such a problem.

“Don’t make me ride in the back,” she huffed, falsely indignant. She winked at Arya as she slid in next to Jon. “I want to sit next to you." 

Jon gave her warning look but didn’t protest when Arya and Gendry rode in the back seat next to each other. Gendry would have taken Arya’s hand if it weren’t a known fact that Jon kept a golf club in the back for protection. Bran had always suggested an aluminum bat while their youngest brother Rickon was in favor of a crowbar.

Instead, Gendry just smiled pleasantly like he was meeting Arya for the first time.

Arya huffed, not falsely indignant. Gendry promised himself that he would buy her all the popcorn she wanted.

“How are you doing back there, Arya?”

Jon would do this from time to time and it was infuriating. Two minutes didn't go by without Jon warningly looking back at them in the rearview mirror.

“Fine,” Arya said, making sure there was enough venom in her tone. Ygritte nodded approvingly at her. “Why can’t we see a movie we want to see?” 

“When you say we…” Jon said. 

“ _Jon_ ,” Arya said in reply. 

“If you think I’m letting the two of you alone together, you’re insane.” 

“So?” Arya asked. “You and Ygritte are alone all the time.” 

“Yeah,” Ygritte said in agreement. “Why don’t we do some of that alone time now?”

Arya thanked god that she couldn’t see Ygritte touching her brother’s thigh suggestively. It didn’t help that she knew what was happening, but she still appreciated it.

“Don’t you want to see _How To Train Your Dragon 2_?” God help the poor boy, but Arya thought that Jon was actually offended.

“No,” Arya said instead.

“ _Godzilla_ might be cool.” It was the first time Gendry had spoken that night. There was a themed double feature at the fifties themed tourist trap drive-in a few miles away. Arya wondered why Jon was determined on a chaperoned date to a place that was historically known for getting girls pregnant in the backseat. But maybe he just thought he could keep a better eye on them during movies that weren’t necessarily sexy.

“Gendry and I would like to see Godzilla without being skeeved on by my brother,” Arya said as diplomatically as she could.

Jon had just pulled into a spot in the middle of the parking lot. Old-fashioned fifties’ advertisements featuring a dancing hot dog were already sashaying across the gigantic screen. Couples were leaning outside of their cars and on top of their windshields. Jon spun around in the driver’s seat, looking Arya dead in the eye. 

“Look. This is the deal. Have a date like this or don’t have one.” 

“This is a horrible compromise.”

“A good compromise is when both sides feel like they don’t get what they want,” Ygritte piped up. “And really, the backseat is better real estate than the front.”

“You are not helping,” Jon told Ygritte. 

“Not trying to.”

Jon sighed. “I’m not skeeving, Arya. I just want to make sure that—“

“Gendry doesn’t molest me?” Arya asked. She felt Gendry slink away from her as far as he could against the door. He did not want to be close to this conversation. “Don’t you think I can take care of myself?” 

“You’re still my sister,” Jon mumbled. He tuned the radio to the drive-in station so the advertisement came through the speakers in the car. No one spoke until the first feature started or even suggested a candy run.

Already, Arya was furious with her brother. It might as well have been that Gendry wasn’t there at all with how poorly this so-called date was going.

No one spoke until well into intermission.

“I want popcorn,” Ygritte announced suddenly. Arya had decided awhile ago her appetite was gone and she would refuse anything Jon would offer her.

Gendry looked at Arya. “Oh okay. Do you want anyth—“ 

“No,” Ygritte interrupted him. “I want Jon to come with me.”

“What?” Jon cried in exasperation. “No, I can’t.”

“You are,” Ygritte said, shoving him out the door.

“The movie’s about to start.”

“We’ll make it,” Ygritte replied. She wasn’t giving her boyfriend a choice. Without another word they were both out of the car. Arya and Gendry both sat in silence in the back. Arya was too angry to really do anything and she didn’t really care about Gendry at the moment.

Maybe it would have been better if Gendry had actually spoken out in her defense. But that was something Jon would do. Something the honorable Starks were raised with.

Gendry was different. He had always been different. He blushed when he was nervous and he thought about the words he said out loud. More than anything he looked at Arya when she spoke and didn’t talk down to her. She was his equal. He let her talk and he agreed with her. 

Making up her mind, she tried shifting towards Gendry who was on the other side of the car.

He immediately took notice.

“Are you scared?”

That was the other thing about him. He could be quite frustrating and oblivious. She didn’t like explaining herself all the time. But she could forgive him just this once. She didn’t blame him for Jon being annoying. She knew he was just trying to help the situation, even if it was mildly insulting.

“No, you idiot,” she scoffed. “I’m just cold.”

She regretted her angry outburst almost immediately. He didn’t deserve it. But somehow, he didn’t take offense. Of course he didn’t. Anyone else would have taken it as an insult, but somehow, Gendry knew her well enough already. He leaned forward in the seat to fiddle with the heat. Her knight in shining armor. She smiled slightly, unable to help herself.

“Come on,” Arya said impatiently, tugging on his sleeve. She attempted to crawl over him into the front.

“I don’t want to get on Jon’s bad side…” Gendry said with paranoia, as if her touch alone would bring Jon running.

“He’s out with Ygritte,” Arya said. “They’re not coming back, trust me. Besides, I didn’t come to be on a date with my brother.” 

“So…” Gendry said. “This is a date?”

She tried not to smile this time. “Isn’t that the point?”

“Just wondering if someone was going to say it.”

She remembered why she liked him. When they were alone, he said things that she liked to hear.

“I’m saying it,” Arya said. “Even if it is the worst date of all time.” 

“I think it’s going pretty okay,” Gendry said tentatively.  He was looking down again and she couldn’t help but be touched by it. “I can still get you some popcorn.”

“I don’t want to risk it,” Arya said. He could run into Jon and that would put an end to this opportunity. She tugged on his shirt again. “Come on. Sit next to me.”

He didn’t need telling twice.

In this instance he did, but he would learn from that lesson.

He would.

The monster didn’t end up onscreen until two-thirds into the movie, but at that point it didn’t matter. 

Sure enough, Ygritte came weaving through the cars casually, Jon’s arm wrapped around hers. He might have looked more relaxed, but Arya wasn’t about to entertain that disgusting thought.

“Well it’s been a nice while it lasted,” Arya said. Gendry’s arm was through hers. She wished her heart didn’t palpitate so much at the thought.

“We could…” Gendry struggled for words. She knew he only did this when he was nervous. He didn’t know why he was, but she didn’t mind it. “Do something. Later.”

Arya wanted to throw herself into that situation but Ygritte stopped a few feet from the car. If she did anything, Jon would see it. For a horrifying moment, Arya thought she would be subjected to some demented pillow talk. 

“Let’s go on the roof.”

“No,” Jon said. “They’re inside and we’ve been gone—“

Ygritte pulled him into by his jacket, kissing the words from his mouth. 

“Can you not be a total buzzkill for two seconds?” She was smiling and had said it with such tenderness that Jon smiled. Finally. 

“We can go on the roof,” he said.

“Oh, can we please, Jon?” Ygritte teased. “What a good idea.”

“Shut up.” But he smiled. Ygritte didn’t need any assistance getting up on the roof but he helped her crawl up the car anyway.

“You stupid gentleman." 

That kind of politeness really couldn’t be stamped completely out of Jon and Ygritte said as much any chance she got.

After they disappeared from view, Arya leaned in impulsively and kissed Gendry on the cheek. His cheek burned beneath her lips and she liked it.

“What was that for?”

“It was a yes, idiot.” 

His arm tightened around her and Arya was thankful that Jon was on the roof.

She didn't remember the rest of the movie, only that she liked it a lot.

* * *

“I’m sorry.”

Gendry had just entered the dorm room that night. Jon didn't want to think about where he was. But his friend was smiling at the was a good thing, right? That's what he had to tell himself. And Ygritte was right. This was something that had to be said.

All the same, this was something Gendry never expected to hear from Jon. But he still listened. 

“I guess I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t do anything to her.”

Gendry shrugged. He didn’t know what else to do. He didn't have to ask because Jon only really thought about a couple of things. That might have been why they got along so well. And he told Gendry when Ygritte would be spending the night and he appreciated that.

“Anything bad,” Jon amended. “And I guess she scared me.”

Finally Gendry had to say something. “Who?”

“Who do you think?” Jon asked, threatening to grin. “She scares you too.”

"She does," Gendry said. "But in a good way."

"Yeah," Jon sighed. "I thought so."

"You know?" Gendry asked.

"Yeah, I get it," Jon said. "That's almost worse. Wanting it. So if you hurt her I will break your kneecaps and then set my dog on you.”

“I know.”

Jon did smile then and Gendry finally felt secure enough to do it himself. That seemed like it would be the end of the conversation but Jon opened his mouth again. 

“Ygritte never told me she loved me,” Jon said. “She still hasn’t. But I know it’s true.”

“How do you know that?” Gendry asked. It was almost like they were normal dorm mates again.

“She tells me how I don’t know anything all the time,” Jon said. “And that she would kill me.”

Gendry wasn’t sure if it was a joke or not. Jon didn’t seem like the joking kind.

“That’s what scared me,” Jon said. “If it really had been one-sided – if you really did just have a crush on my little sister – then that would be it. Arya would have put a stop to it right then and there. But when it’s mutual, that’s when you really have to worry. More pain and heartbreak. Unrequited is a clean break. This isn’t. Do you know what I’m saying?”

Actually, Gendry did understand.

Arya never told anyone that she liked Gendry.

She just told everyone how stupid he was. Including him.

“I promise she’ll break my heart before I breaks hers,” Gendry said.

“You better," Jon warned. 

"Why did you tell me about Ygritte?" Gendry finally asked.

"Because my sister really likes you," Jon said in defeat. "Stop smiling. It's not funny."

"I didn't say it was funny," Gendry said. But he still wouldn't stop.

"I'll publish all of your poetry. I will."

"Sorry."


End file.
